Learn to use soft window light and to shoot into the light (backlight) on purpose.
Lesson rule: a window is a free softbox
Window light and shooting into the light
A large window is the best free source of soft light at home. Window light is diffused (especially on an overcast day or when the window doesn't face the sun), and it wraps softly around faces and objects. Place your subject side-on to the window, and the side light from the window will be beautiful and sculpting, with a smooth falloff into shadow. Turn your subject to face the window, and the light will be even, with no shadows.
Backlight (shooting into the light) is when the light source is BEHIND the subject, facing the camera. It gives you two effects:
— Silhouette: the subject turns dark against a bright background (a sunset, a window). What matters here is a clean, recognizable shape.
— Rim light: a thin, glowing outline along the edge of the hair or figure that separates your subject from the background.
Backlight is a powerful but tricky technique: when the phone sees a bright background, it makes everything else too dark. Later, in the unit on camera modes, you'll learn to control this manually (lowering the exposure for a silhouette or raising it to bring out a face).
What to avoid: don't put a person with their back to the window if you want to see their face — without an exposure correction, the face will fall into shadow.
Lesson notes
Window light and shooting into the light
A large window is the best free source of soft light at home. Window light is diffused (especially on an overcast day or when the window doesn't face the sun), and it wraps softly around faces and objects. Place your subject side-on to the window, and the side light from the window will be beautiful and sculpting, with a smooth falloff into shadow. Turn your subject to face the window, and the light will be even, with no shadows.
Backlight (shooting into the light) is when the light source is BEHIND the subject, facing the camera. It gives you two effects:
— Silhouette: the subject turns dark against a bright background (a sunset, a window). What matters here is a clean, recognizable shape.
— Rim light: a thin, glowing outline along the edge of the hair or figure that separates your subject from the background.
Backlight is a powerful but tricky technique: when the phone sees a bright background, it makes everything else too dark. Later, in the unit on camera modes, you'll learn to control this manually (lowering the exposure for a silhouette or raising it to bring out a face).
What to avoid: don't put a person with their back to the window if you want to see their face — without an exposure correction, the face will fall into shadow.